Multi-sectoral approach needed in battle against poverty

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Swakopmund
The Deputy Minister of Poverty Eradication and Social Welfare, Reverend Aino Kapewangolo, has urged all Namibians not to use their energy merely for own selfish interests or to fight their elders, but rather to direct their energy in fighting poverty and building up the nation.
The minister made the call during a consultative meeting on poverty eradication held on Monday in Swakopmund.
The minister, accompanied by representatives of various ministries, is conducting a series of consultative meetings throughout the country to discuss and come up with strategies that will see the materialisation of wealth distribution and poverty eradication in the country.
The regional consultation meeting was attended by the Governor of the Erongo Region, Cleophas Mutjavikua, various mayors, councillors and representatives of traditional authorities, parastatals and the private sector in the region.
She said the journey towards a prosperous Namibia is still long and requires immense work.
Kapewangolo said that despite statistics indicating that poverty was halved by 29 percent between 1994 and 2010, President Hage Geingob had said that a 10 to five percent reduction would still mean that poverty is high in the country.
“Therefore, we need all the support from all stakeholders to respond to the President’s call to eradicate poverty.”
She said that the ministry takes cognizance of the multi-faceted nature of poverty and the great need for a multi-sectoral approach to fight poverty.
“We will play a crucial and central role to ensure that the myriad of initiatives and programmes that relate to poverty eradication and social welfare, executed by the government and line ministries, are coordinated, evaluated and synchronized. This will allow us to identify and fill gaps.”
“We are building a nation based on a shared vision, as per our Vision 2030, a country where poverty would not have space. Thus, these consultative meetings will afford us an opportunity to engage with you, as representatives of communities, including the poorest of the poor, and to propose workable and sustainable wealth redistributive strategies to eradicate poverty. Through these engagements, clear recommendations should be provided, not wish lists, but workable proposals,” elaborated Kapewangolo. New Era Reporter 2015-09-29 08:58:42 3 years ago